Page 123 of Tangled Hearts
Hov nodded. “Whatever that mean.”
She scribbled something on her notepad. His voice had a calmness to it, the kind that made people listen without realizing they were. “I’m guessing you’re not trying to sell everything just yet.”
“Some of it, maybe. The ones with weak bones. But I ain’t lettin’ go of the corner lot. I been eyein’ a Black-owned café setup… vintage theme. That’s as far as my mind took me,” he laughed lightly.
“Sounds personal.”
“It is.”
Sassy respected that. She leaned forward, the air shifting as the flirtation in her gaze slipped back in.
“You know when to make it about the money and when to make it about the memory.”
“You gotta do both. Heart don’t pay property tax, but it do keep you grounded. I’m tryna flip smart… In it for the long game if I’m really gon’ do this.”
She nodded. “Then here’s the play. Hold the corner. Flip the weaker duplexes, especially the one with that plumbing issue you glossed over in your email. Use those funds to upgrade the café property without touching your reserves. Stay liquid but build equity. Make the white folks nervous.”
That made him laugh. “You dangerous.”
“I’m expensive.” Sassy crossed her legs, her foot brushing against his leg under the table. She didn’t try to do it but wasn’t mad about it either.
He licked his bottom lip before sitting forward. “How you learn the game?”
Sassy didn’t blink. “I watched my momma lose our house when I was ten. First thing I did when I turned twenty-one was buy a duplex in cash. Been climbing ever since.”
Respect showed in his posture. “You married to the game, huh?”
“Only ‘til something better comes along.”
Their eyes held. She didn’t break.
He tilted his head. “You ever teach all this?”
“Only to people who deserve it.”
“You tryna figure out if I do?”
“I already figured. Just not sure if you got the discipline to stay at the table when the deals get real.”
“I ain’t got the luxury to walk away,” Hov replied. “Not when I done buried people behind these dreams. I’m all the way in. Gotta right my wrongs”
She looked at him like she saw past the nice fit and clean cut. She saw the block on his shoulders, the tired in his drive. She liked it. “Okay then, young mogul. You play your cards right, I’ll show you how to own this whole damn city.”
Hov gave her a look that was more dangerous than flirtatious. “I always wanted to be a king.”
She laughed, extending her hand for him to take. “Listen to what I say, how I say it, and when I say it. Not too much back talk and you’ll be sitting on the throne before you know it.”
CHAPTER 29
Knycole walkedinto therapy with her head held high this time. This was her fourth session and probably the most important one.
There was no bouncing knee. No shaky hands. Only the weight she carried in her eyes. Her sleeves swallowed her fingers, and she kept tugging at the ends like they held the words she didn’t want to say.
Nick was already seated.
Fresh polo. Slacks. Looking clean but older. Smaller, like life had shaved him down to the bare minimum. His hands sat flat on his thighs, like he was forcing them to stay still. He wasn’t twitching or nodding off. But he looked like just being here took everything he had.
Dr. Simmons smiled and stood. “Glad to see you again, Knycole. Nick, welcome.”
